Sole-locating machine



July 22, 1930. E. w. sTAcEY SOLE LOCATNG MACHINE Filed sept. 13, 1928- 5 Sheets-Sheet www Ww www www www Mdr July 22, 1930. E. w. sTAcEY SOLE LOCATING MCHINEv Filed Sept l5, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 22, 1930. E W STACEY 1,771,018

SOLE LOCATING MACHINE July 22, 1930. E. w. sTAcEY SOLE LOCATING MACHINE Filed Sept l5, 1928 l 5 Sheets-Sheetv NWN.

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July 22, 1930. E. w. sTAcEY SOLE LOCATING MACHINE Filed Sept4 13, 1928. 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented July z2, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ERNEST W. BTACEY, OF BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, .ASSIGNOR T UNITED SHOE IA- CHINER'Y' CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY soLn-Locnme MACHINE Application led September 18, 1928. Serial No. 305,752.

This invention relates to machines for locating a shoe part upon a partly finished shoe and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for locating an unvulcanized rubber sole upon the bottom of a lasted shoe.

In the manufacture of rubber overshoes, tennis shoes and similar footwear, it is customary to locate an unvulcanized sole upon the bottom of a lasted shoe, then to lay the sole by pressing it firmly into place and nally to subject the shoe to vulcanization whereby the sole is firmly attached to the shoe. Before the sole is placed or located upon the shoe, the bottom of the shoe or inner face of the sole or both are coated with cement, and the sole is placed upon the bottom of the shoe and pressed into place in two or more localities so that it will retain its location. After the sole has been thus located, the shoe is placed upon a so-called stick which consists of a vrod having pairs of last pins projecting from it, said. sticks being commonly held in racks; and when all the sticks on a given rack have been loaded with shoes, the rack is moved to the sole laylng -machine and tlie shoes taken from the sticks one by one by the sole laying machine operator. The locating of the soles upon the shoes by hand is slow and is liable not to be accurate; and the use of sticks and racks consumes va considerable amount of time.

In view ofthe foregoing and according to one feature of the invention there is provided a machine having a shoe support,

means for locating a shoe part upon the shoe,.ff

and means for removing the shoe from its support at the end of the locating operation. In the use of the illustrated machine a shoe part, illustrated as a sole,y and a lasted shoe are separately supported in predetermined positions such that actuation of the sole support causes the sole to be located in desired position upon the bottom of the shoe; and, then a shoe carrier removes the shoe from its support and discharges it upon a conveyor which may deliver the shoe to the sole laying machine operator. With this construction the soles are accurately located upon the shoe bottoms faster than Vby hand and do -stretches it to a greater length if its/has shrunk.

According to another feature of the invention, means are provided for stretching the sole prior to locating it' upon the shoe. In the .illustrated machine the sole support is provided with heel and toe gages which are adjusted -into such position that the distance between them is less than the length of the sole required. The heel and toe ends of the sole are held in contact with their respective gage; and then the gages are moved apart until the distance between them is exactly the length of sole required. If the sole is initially ofthe right length it will wrinkle somewhat when placed between the gages; if it is too short it will wrinkle lessor not at all. At the end.v ofthe stretching operation, however, all soles'will be of the required length.

Other features of the invention relate to the constructions of the solelocatin mechanism, the mechanism fon/removing' t e shoe from its support and the mounting ofthe conveyor.

These and other features of the invention including certain details of construction and combinations of parts will be described as embodied/in an illustrative machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

. Referring now to the'accompanying drawmgs,

Fig. llis a front elevation of the upper part of a machine in which the present invention .l

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the swinging sole support;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation, partly broken away, of the upper part of the machine;

Flg. 5 is an elevation of the mechanism for adj ustably supporting the lasted shoe bottomside-up;

Fig. 6 is a plan of the mechanism for supporting the toe portion of the shoe;

Fig. 7 is a detail partly in plan and partly in section, showing more particularly the mechanism for imparting intermittent, halfrevolutions to the shaft upon which the shoe carriers, in the form of grippers, are mounted;

Fig. 8 is a vertical longitudinal section of the sole support;

Fig. 9 is a detail in elevation showing the mechanism for supporting the rear portion of the shoe;

Fig. 10 is an end elevation, partly in section, of the lower portion of the machine whch contains all of the driving mechanism; an

Fig. 11 is a front elevation of the lower portion of the machine.

Before proceeding to a detailed description of the machine a brief description' of its general construction and mode of operation will be given. A lasted shoe 100' is placed bottom-side-up in a suitable support, as shown at the upper middle portion of Fig. 1 and in Fig. 5; and a sole 200 is placed rightside-up in a second suitable support, as shown at the left in Fig. 1 and in Fig. 3. The lasted shoe and the sole are held by their respective supports in such manner that their longitudlnal axes are substantially parallel and the ends of the sole extend a suitable distance (commonly about one quarter ofan inch) beyond the corresponding ends of the shoe, the ends of the ball lines of the sole and of the shoe being in alinement. The sole support is then rocked in a clockwise direction (Fig. 1) about the aXis of a rock-shaft 15 to cause the sole to be located upon the bottom of the lasted shoe. The sole has previously been coated with cement on its upper face and adheres to the bottom of the lasted shoe. The shoe with the sole thus properly located upon it, is then seized by one or the other of two pairs of grippers and deposited upon a conveyor belt 17 in the manner shown in the right-hand-portion of Fig. 1, the shoe being carried by the conveyor belt away from the observer, as viewed in that figure, to any desired locality, for example to the locality of the operator of the machine which presses the sole firmly into place.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 3, 4 and 8, the sole support will be described. It should be noted that the main portion of the sole 290 (Fig. 8) is sup-ported in horiaontal posltion but that the forward portion 1s supported in inclined position, there being a break in the sole at the locality indicated by the arrow which is substantially the localit of the ball line. The purpose of supporting the sole in this manner will be understood'from an inspection of Fig. 5where in the shoe is shown bottom-side-up. The bottom of the shoe from the heel end to the ball line is approximately horizontal, but from the ball line to the toe end it is inclined downward. When the sole 200 supported as shown in Fig. 8, has been rotated 180 degrees to bring it down upon the bottom of the lshoe, it will consequently be pressed against the bottom of the shoe throughout its entire length.

The sole support comprises a generally rectangular base 19 having a heel gage 21 and a toe gage 23. The heel gage 21 is integral with a plate 25 the upper surface of which is flush with the upper surface of the base 19. This plate is mounted for horizonf tal sliding movement, being located in a recess in the upper right-hand portion (Fig. 8) of the base 19 and held from rising by narrow plates 27 (Fig. 3). The toe gage 23 is 1ntegral with an inclined plate 29 which is slidably mounted by means of narrow plates 31 upon an inclined portion of a carrier 33.

Projecting downward from the under side ot the plate 29 isa lug through which an adjusting screw 35 is threaded, said screw being rotatable in a bearing lug of the carrier 33 but held from longitudinal movement with respect to said lug by a collar 37 and a gear 39 both of which are normally fast to the screw. When this screw is rotated, the toe gage 23 is adjusted toward or from the heel gage 21.

In either case, the locality in which the bend in the sole occurs should also be changed. This locality as has been explained is indicated in Fig. 8, by the arrow. In order to permit this locality to be changed, the carrier 33, upon which the toe gage 29 is .slid ably mounted, is itself mounted for horlzontal sliding movement in suitable ways, not shown, in the base 19. It is, of course, desirable that the adjustments of the plate 29 'and those of the carrier 33 should take place simultaneously, and to this end they are so adjusted by turning a hand wheel 41. This hand wheel is fast to one end of a small shaft 43 rotatably mounted in the base 19 to the other end of which is fast a gear 45, said gear meshing with an elongated idle pinion 47. The pinion meshes with a gear 49 which is fast to a screw 51, said screw being threaded through a lug on the base 19 and being rotatable 1n a bearing in the carrier 33 but held from longitudinal movement in its bearing by the gear 49 and a second and smaller gear 53, both of which are fast to the screw 51. The gear 53 meshes with a gear 55 which is rigid with a bevel gear 57, both of sald last-named gears being rotatable A about a spindle-which is mounted inthe carrier 33. The bevel gear 57 meshes with the bevel gear 39 on thescrew 35. The various gears and the itches of the two screws are so proportione that the break of the sole, whatever the length of the sole may be, is maintained in substantially the proper locality of the sole, that is, substantially at thev ball line. In order to permit the position of the plate 29 to be varied, if desired, without varying the position of its carrier 33, the bevel gear 39 is not fast to the'screw 35 but is normally fastened to it by means of a small latch 59 pivoted at 61 to linger-hold 63 which is pinned to the shaft, said latch being adapted to engage any one of a plurality of slots 65 in the hub ofthe bevel gear 39. The latch is normally held in the operative position shown by a small sprin ,notvshown, but may be disengaged from the evel gear 39 by being swung a out its pivot 61. When the latch is so disengaged, the screw 35 may be turned to adjust the toe gage 23 in its inclined path without adjustingthe carrier 33.

After th'e sole 200 has been properly placed upon its'support between the toe and heel gages 23, 21, the rock-shaft 15 is -rotated through 180, as has been explained, to place the sole upon the bottom of the lasted shoe. In order to prevent the sole from falling from its support during this rotation two suction ports 67, 69 lead through the support to the tread face of the sole. The port 67 (Fig. 8)` communicates with a small chamber 71 formed in the carrier 33; and a port 73 leads from this chamber to one end of a hose 75 (Fig. 4) the other end of which is connected to a suction pipe 77 in which a vacuum is created by mechanism presently to be described. The port 69, near theheel gage 21 (Fig. 8), communicates with a. downwardly projecting nipple 79 which is integral with the plate 25; and to this nipple 1s connected one end of a suction hose 81, the other end of which is also connected to the suction pipe 77 (Fig. 4) In the operation of the machine a vacuum is created in the suction pipe just as the sole support begins to rotate toward the bottom of the lasted shoe and is not broken until the sole has been placed in position.

The soles are commonly of unvulcanized rubber, as has been explained, and such soles frequently shrink somewhat if a considerable interval elapses between the time' they are died out and the time they are placed upon the bottom of the shoe. These soles are commonly made long enough so that they project more or less beyond the edge of the bottom of the shoe, this projecting portion being bent up against the lower side margin of the shoe during the so-called sole laying operation by which the sole is pressed firmly into place. The shrinkagereferred toyabove does not amount to much widthwise of the sole; but lengthwise the `shrinkage is sometimes circumstances outlined above it is customary,

when the soles 'are located by hand, for the operator to locate the heel and toe ends o the sole in proper relation to the heel and toe portions of the shoe, stretching the sole and elonl gating it somewhat ifnecessary, and to press the ends of the 4sole against the shoe so that they will adhere. Each sole is thus elongated by the hand operator if it is too short.

It is in order to provide for this possible necessity of elongating the sole so as to ensure the proper projection of the sole beyond the edges of the heel and toe ends of the shoe that the plate 25 (Fig. `3) which carries the gage 21 is slidably mounted. The normal distance between the toe and heel gages 21, 23 is made, by the adjustment which has been described above, less than the required length of the sole by an amount, say three-sixteenths of an inch, greater than the greatest shrinkage which commonlytakes place in the 'sole;-

and then, after the suction has been applied, the plate 25 is moved to the right to stretch the sole. If the sole, when it is placed between the gages, is of exactly the right length it will bend or wrinkle somewhat and, when the plate 25 is moved to the right, will merely be stretched to itsfull length. If, on the other hand, the sole is too short, it will be stretched suiriciently to elongate it when the plates moves to the right. In either case, whether or not the stretching eiects any elongation, the sole, when it is located upon the bottom of the shoe, will be of the proper length.

In'order to hold the plate 25 normally in the position shown and to move it to the right -during the swinging of the sole support over into position to locate the sole upon the bottom of the shoe, a lever 83 (Fig. 3) pivoted lat 85 to the base 19 has a fork at one end which embraces the nipple 7 9 on the under side of the plate 25 and moves the plate to the right when the sole support is rotated to locate the sole on the bottom of the shoe.

To move the lever 83 so as to accomplis this result, one end of the lever is pivoted at 87 yto a rod 89 which' is slidable through a boss on the base 19 and the free end of which is held by a tension spring 91 against an incline 93 formed on a block 95 which is adjustably fastened to the frame of the machine by a screw bolt 97 and is located between ways 99 which are integral with said frame. When the sole support is rotated about the axis of the rock shaft 15, the end of the rod 91 rides.

up the incline 93, and the spring 89 pulls the rod to the left, thereby rocking the lever 83 in a countercloclrwise direction and moving the plate 25, to which the heel end of the sole is held by suction, to the right as far as an j adjustable. stop screw 101 will permit.

vgear 103 (Fig. 1) meshing with an idle gear 105, which in turn meshes with a segmental rack 107 pivoted to the frame of the machine at 109 and rocked at the proper times by means of-a link 111 which is actuated from a drive shaft in a manner presently to be described.

-Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1, 5, 6 and 9, the support for the vlasted shoe 100 will be described. The shoe is supported bottom-side-up with its toe portion resting upon the edge of a forepart rest in the form of a curved rib 113. Its upper portion is received between two rollers 115 and its top rests upon a rounded surface at the outer end of an adjustable slide 117 by which the rollers 115 are carried in the manner shown best in Fig. 9, the rollers and adjustable slide constituting a rear part rest. These rollers are mounted in the upper ends of arms 119 which are pivoted at 121 to the slide and have inter-engaging segmental racks so that they move equally in opposite directions. A tension spring 123 tends at all times to swing the rollers 115 apart as far as a. stop screw 125 will permit, said screw being threaded through one of the arms 119 and bearing against a part of the slide 117 This slide is vertically adjustable upon ways 126 (Fig. 1) formed on the frame of the machine. To facilitate the adjustment, a vertical adjusting screw 127, which is threaded through the slide and is rotatable in a stationary bearing but held from longitudinal movement by the collars 129, 131, has cut in the upper portion of its stem a spiral gear 132 (Fig. 4) which meshes with a similar gear 134 on the stem of a short horizontal shaft 133 having a hand wheel 135 by the turning of which the screw 127 may be rotated to adjust the slide 123, and with it the supporting and centering rollers 115 up or down as may be desired.

The heel end of the shoe is placed against a curved stationary gage 130 and this gage is so located with respect to the corresponding curved gage 21 of the sole (Fig. 3) that when the last-named gage is in its extreme rightlhand position, as viewed in Fig. 3, the heel end of the sole, when the sole is swung 180 about the rock-shaft, will be located properly with respect to the heel end of the shoe. Consequently to provide for different lengths of soles and of shoes, only the toe gage for the sole and the toe gage for the shoe need be adjusted.

The toe portion of the shoe (Figs. 5 and 6) is supported on the curved gage 113, as has been explained. This gage follows the con- `tour of a notch in one end of an inclined plate 137 which is slidably mounted on inclined surfaces of a carrier 139 and held from movement away Afrom the carrier by nar- The carrier 139 is itself mounted for horizontal sliding movement upon suitable ways formed on the frame of the machine, being held fromrising by narrow plates 143 fastened byscrews to said frame. The-purpose of this compound adjustment of the toe gage or rest is much the same as that which has been described in connection with the similar adjustment for the toe gage of the sole. When the toe gage 113 of the lasted shoe is adjusted to'the'left (Fig. 5), to provide for a longer shoe, thetoe gage should be lowered, and, when the toe gage is adjusted to the right for a shorter shoe, said gage should be raised, since it is necessary that the bottoms of all shoes placed in the machine should be approximately at the same level. The toe gage plate 137 may be adjusted by turning a screw 145 which is threaded through a downwardly projecting lug on the under side of the late 137, said screw passing loosely through a race on the carrier 139 and being held from longitudinal movement with respect to the brace by the hub of a spiral gear 147 and a collar 149, which are fastened to the stem of the screw one on each side of the brace. The carrierslide 139 may be adjusted horizontally by turning a screw 151 which is threaded through an upstanding lug 153 on the frame of the machine, the stem of the screw passing loosely through the brace of the carrier 139 and being held from longitudinal movement with respect to the brace by a spiral gear 155 and a gear 157 which are fastened to the screw 151 one 011 each side of the brace. The two spiral gears 147,155 are in mesh, and the screws 145 and 151 are respectively left and right-handed so that, when the screw 151- is turned, both t-he plate 137 and the carrier 139 are adjusted toward the right or toward the left. The gear 157 meshes with an elongated gear 159 which is fast to a short shaft 161 rotatable in stationary bearings, said shaft having at one end a sprocket 163 around which runs a chain 165, said chain also running around a sprocket 167 (Fig. 4) on the end of a shaft 169 to the other end of which, at the front of the machine, is fastened a hand wheel 171. By turning the wheel 171 the toe rest for the lasted shoemay be adjusted for shoes of different sizes in such manner as to maintain the bottoms of all of the shoes at their ball lines at substantially the same level.

The shoes upon which soles are to be placed are irst arranged in groups of the same style and size; and the shoe support is adjusted for the shoes of a group before the shoes of that group are operated upon. Inasmuch as the sole support is always swung through 180 and, therefore, always deposits the sole at a certain level, it is necessary that the bottom of the shoe, whatever its style and size, should be at this level. To this end, (Fig. 5)

'row vplates* 141. fastened in place by screws.

there is provided a bottom gage 160 which4 is pivoted to the frame of the machine about the stem of a screw bolt 162 and may, therefore, be swung out ofthe way after the adjustment of the parts l'ofthe shoe support have been made. A

The operation of the machine, as thus far described, is as follows: Referring principallv to Fig. 1, the parts of the shoe support,

and those of the sole support are first adjusted for the particular style and size of shoe and sole. To this end, the heel portionof the shoe support is raised or lowered by turning the hand wheel 135 to bring the shoe to the proper level as determined by the bottom gage 160 (Fig. 5). The toe portion of the shoe support is adjusted by turning the hand wheel 171, which acts through the chain 165 (Fig. 6) to rotate the long pinion159 and thereby move the toe rest 113 to theright or left and at the same time to raise orv lower it. The toe gage 23 of the sole support is then adjusted to proper position by turning the hand wheel 41.- After these adjustments have been made, the operator places a lasted shoe 100 upon the shoe supportand a fast, is rocked 180 in' a `clockwise direction.

Just as this rocking movement begins a vacuum is created in the pipe 77, by mechanism presently to be described, so that the sole is held firmly upon its support. During *the v first part of this rocking movement of the sole support the sole is stretched or straightened (Fig. 3) lby the movement of the slide plate 25 to the right, said movement being due to the fact that the left-hand end of the rod 89 rides up the stationary incline 93. At the end of the rocking movement of the sole support in the clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 1), the sole is placed in proper location upon the bottom of theshoe, at which time the vacuum in the pipe 77 is broken. The segmental rack 107 now swings to the left, and the machine comes to rest with the parts in the positions shown in Fig. 1.

After the sole has been thus located upon the lasted shoe, and during the time that the sole support is returning to initial position, the shoe withthe sole adhering to its bottoln is seized by a shoe carrier in the form of a pair of grippers, lifted from its support, turned over, and deposited right-sideup upon a moving belt which may convey it to any desired locality, for example, to the locality of the sole laying machine by which the sole is subsequently ressed Ainto place upon the bottom o the shoe.

f Referring still to Fig. 1, there are two pairsof these grlppers, indicated respectively as a vhole by A and B, which are carried by a shaft 173 and are rotated intermittently 180 degrees alwaysv in a clockwise direction at the proper times so that, at each half-revolution of the shaft, the pairs of grippers A and Bchange places. In the position of parts shown, they grippers-A are in position to grip a shoe 100 which is being supported bottom-side-up, and

the conveyor belt 17, which shoe is being carried away from the observer bythe conveyor belt. At the next half-revolution of thev shaft 173, the grippers A will take the `shoe from the shoe vsupport and deposit it upon the conveyor belt, while the grippersB will move to the osition formerly occupied by the grippers )i f.

The 'path' of rotation of the grip ers, it will beseen, intersects the conveyor elt in the position in which the belt is shown. It is necessary, therefore, to make some provisionl whereby the grippers 'in their rotary move- A the grippers B have deposited a shoe 100 upon yment shall not contact with the conveyor belt.

Referring now to Fig. 4, the shoes are deposited upon the right-hand end of the conve or belt 17 as viewed in that li re; and this right-handend is automatica ly swung down into the position shown in dotted lines in time 'to permit the grippers to be rotated, and is then swung up 1nto the'full line position to receive the next shoe. The conveyor belt 17 is caused to travel-in the direction indicatedby thearrows in Fig. 4 by suitable mechanism not shown. Its right-hand end passes around a pulley 175 rotatably mounted at the right-hand end of a rigid .frame 176 (Fig. 7) the left-hand end of which is fast to a shaft 177 rotatably mounted in bearingsv in the frame of the machine; and rotatable on this shaft is a pulley 17 9.which is located between the upper and lower runs of the conveyor belt. A third pulley 181 is located beneath the lower run of the conveyor belt and somewhat to the left of the pulley 179. The

pulley 181 is rotatable upon a shaft 183 which is rotatabl mounted in the frame of the machine. ast to one end of this shaft is a sort of bell-crank lever 185 having at the ends of each of its arms respectively a set of gear teeth, one set meshing with a gear 186 which is fast to the shaft 1.77, and the other with the teeth of a vertical rack 187 which is fastened to a vertical rod 189, said rod being slidable in bearings in the frame of the machine.

This rod is urged upwardly into the position shown by a spring 190 against a cam 191 which is mounted upon the shaft 173, said cam extending down between the Aarms'of al fork at the upper end of therod 189 and into contact with a small roll 193 carried by said arms. This cam is so shaped that, during each half revolution of the shaft 17 3, it depresses the rod 189, thereby swinging the right-hand portion of the conveyor belt 17 down` into the dotted line position (Fig. 4) so 5 that this portion of the belt is out of the way of the grlppers B (Fig. 1) when said grippers are being swung clockwise into the position occupied by the grippers A. It will be understood, of course, that the right-hand end (Fig. 4) of the conveyor belt is also swlLng down so as to be out of the way of the grippers A when those grippers cross the normal path of the conveyor belt. during every half revolution of the shaft 173z the right-hand end of the conveyor belt 17 1s first swung down into the dotted line osition of Fig. 4 to let the grippers (A or pass by and is then swung up into normal horizontal position to receive the next shoe.

20 The shaft 173, which carries both the grippers A and B, is driven from the oscillating segmental rack 107 (Fig. 1). This shaft, however, rotates 180 degrees intermittently always in the same direction and makes such a half-revolution once for every complete oscillation (forward and back) of the segmental rack 107. To this end there is mounted loosely upon the shaft 173 a gear 195 which is driven through a small gear ao 197 and a large gear 199. When the segmental rack 107 is swung in a clockwise direction, the gear 195 is rotated 180 degrees in a counterclockwise direction; but when the gear rotates in this direction it does not rotate the shaft 173. When, however, the

segmental rack 107 is swung back in a counterclockwise direction the gear 195 is rotated 180 degrees in a clockwise direction, and rotates the shaft 173 to cause the grippers A and B to change places. The connection between the gear 195 and the shaft 17 3 is a oneway clutch; and ansuitable clutch of that type may be used. eferring more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 7, the shaft 173 has fast to it, adjacent to the loose gear 195, a

`cam shaped member 201 having two stop surfaces 203. 205 with which a pawl 207 alternately engages to prevent the shaft 173 from being rocked in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1. This member has two lugs 209,211 projecting from its side, the lug 211 being shown in elevation in Fig. 7. Adapted to cooperate with these lugs 209, 211 on the member 201 are two lugs formed on the adjacent face of the gear 195, one of said lugs being shown in elevation at 213 in Fig. 7. The gear 195 is urged at all times toward the member 201 by a coiled spring 215 which engages with one end the gear 195 and with the other a washer 217 held in 7, will move away from, the observer) the lugs 213 on the gear engage the lugs 209, 211 on the member 201, whlch is fast to the shaft 173, and cause the shaft to rotate 180 degrees in the same direction. At the end of this half revolution the pawl 207. (Figs. 2 and 7) is in engagement with the stop surface 205. When, now the gear 195 is given a half revolution in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 1) the pawl 207 prevents the shaft 17 3 from turning, the lugs 213 on the gear ride over the lugs 209, 211 on the member 201; and the parts are `in position to cause the shaft 173 to be given another half revolution in a clockwise direction.

As has been explained, at the next half revolution of the shaft 173 in a clockwise direction (Fig. 1), the grippers A will engage a shoe, move over into the position formerly occupied by the grippers B and open to deposit the shoe upon the moving conveyor belt 17 which immediately carries it away. And simultaneously with the above described movement of the grippers A, the grippers B move into the position formerly occupied by the grippers A. At. the beginning of these simultaneous movements of the grippers through 180 degrees, the cam 191 (Fig. 4) depresses the vertical slide rod 189 and thereby causes the end of the conveyor belt 17, which is beneath one pair of grippers, to swing down into the dotted line position; then, toward the end of the movements of the two pairs of grippers, the cam 191 permits the spring 190 to move the rod 189 up into the position shown and thereby to swing the end of the conveyor belt 17 back into the full line position in time to receive the shoe which is then dropped upon it by the other pair of grippers. Y

The two pairs of grippers A and B are exactly alike; and consequently only one pair will be described in detail. The grippers B comprise the jaws 219, 221 carried by arms 223, 225 which are pivoted respectively at 227, 229 to plates 231 between which the arms extend. The arms 223, 225 have tails 233, 235, between which is a small two-part tele scopic rod encircled by a compression spring 237, said arms being geared together by the segmental racks 239, 241. The plates are bolted to one end of a heavy arm 243, the hub of which is fast to the shaft 173. The spring 237 tends at all times to close the jaws 219,221. In order to open the jaws and to permit the spring to close them at the proper times, the arm 225 has pivoted to it one end of a short link 245, the other end of which is pivoted tothe upper end of a small bent lever 247 pivoted at 249 to an ear on the arm 243 and having at its lower end a cam roll 251 which runs upon a cam 253 (Fig. 7) fast to the shaft 173. This cam is so shaped that it holds the jaws of both pairs of grippers A and B open when the parts of the machine are in the positions Y if shown. 'Justafter the shaft 173 begins a vvhalf-revolution, the jaws ofthe grip ers A the shoe upon the -conveyor belt. Considering now the jaws 219, 221 of the pair of grippers B, thesejaws are held open and remain open when the grippers B reach the position` in which the grippers A are shown as occupying in the drawings.

Referring now to Figs. and 11",\the mechand that for oscillating the segmental rack `107 will be described, The lower end of the pipe 77 (Fig. 1) fits over the upper end of a short pipe 255, the lower -end of which fits over a nipple 257, said nipple leading down into the cylinder 259 ofthe suction pump. The piston 261 of the pump is reciprocated by means of v a connecting rod 263, the lower end of which is pivoted at 265 to the substantially horizontal arm of a bell-crank lever 267. 4A small roll 269 carried at the uppere'nd of the substantially upright arm of the bell-crank'lever 267 is received in a cam track 271 cut in a cam 273 which is fast to the shaft 27 5, the center line of the path of this track being indicated by a dot-and-dash line in Fig. 11. The shape of this cam track is such that immediately after power is applied to tle shaftv 275 to cause it to make onerevolution, the piston 261 is pulled down to create a vacuum in the pipe 77 so as to hold the sole iirmly upon its support, said piston remaining down until the sole has been located upon the bottom of the lasted shoe,whereupon it is moved up to break the vacuum and remains in uppermost position when the shaft 275 has `completed its revolution.

The link 111, through which thev segmental rack 107 is oscillated, is actuated by means of a two-part telescopic connecting rod, the parts of which have a spring between them.V The -upper member of this connecting rod is a yoke 277 between the arms of which the lower end of the link 111 is pivoted, the stem 279 of the yoke extending down through alined bores which entendv through crosspieces of the lower member 281 of the twopart connecting rod. A compression spring 283, which surrounds the stem 279, rests at its lowerend upon one of the crosspieces and with its upper end bears against the under face of a collar 285, which is pinned to the stem 27 9, and vnormally holds the collar up' against the under side of the upper cross piece of the member 281, the bottomof the yoke 277 being normally spaced somewhat above the top of the lower member 281 of the two-part connecting rod. This lower member, at its lower end is pivoted to a crank arm 287 which is fast to the shaft 275.` The purpose of the two-part telescopic connecting rod is to pre- `289 which is normally loose upon it but may be connected with it through a one-revolution clutch-,desi ated as a whole by the letter C (Fig.'10).`

y'suitable one-revolution clutch may beA employed; and .since the illustrated v clutch forms, per se, no part of the present invention, the details of its construction will not be described. It will be explained, merely that depression of a treadle 291 connects the large gear 289 to the shaft 27 5 to cause said amsm for creating a vacuum in the pipe 77 shaft to make one revolution. The large gear which is fast to a shaft 295, said shaft havin-g also fast vto it a 4large sprocket wheel 297. Around this sprocket wheel and around a small sprocket wheel 299 fast to theshaft of an electric motor 301 passes a chain 303.

The operations of the sole locatin and the shoe removing mechanisms have en described separately above. A brief summary of their concurrent operation will now be given. Referring principally to Fig. 1, a sole 200 is placed upon the sole support between the heel and toe gages 21, 2'3, and a lasted shoe 100 is placed bottom-side-up upon the shoe support. The treadle is then depressed to cause the driving shaft to make one revolution. During the rst half of the revolution of said shaft, a vacuum is created in the pipe 77 to hold the sole upon its support and the segmentalrack 107 is rocked in a clockwise direction. This rocking of the rack causes the rockrshaft 15 to make half a revolution but `d oes not actuate the shaft -17 3. The rocking the shoe and to press it against said bottom. At the beginning of the last half of the revolution of the driving shaft, the vacuum in the pipe 77 is broken; and, during said half revolution, the segmental rack 107 is swung in a counterclockwise direction, and both rock-shafts 15 and 173 are rotated through 180 degrees, the rock-shaft 15 in a counterclockwise direction and the rock-shaft 173 in a clockwise direction so as to cause the sole support to return to the normal position shown and to cause the grippers A and B to change places. During this movement of the grippers, the end of the conveyor belt 17 is rst swung down out of the path of movement of the grippers B and then up into normal position. The grippers A close upon the shoe, carry it over the conveyor belt and then release it. The grippers B remain open and when they have reached the position which the grippers A occupy in the drawings, are ready to close upon a succeeding shoe.

Although the inventionhas been set forth as embodied in a particular machine, it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular machine which has been shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a shoe, means separate from the support for the ,shoe for m locating a shoe part upon the shoe, and means for removing the shoe from its su port.

2. A machine ofthe class descri ed having, in combination, a support for a shoe a support for a shoe part separate from the sup- 15 port for the shoe, means for producing relative movement of approach of the supports to locate the shoe part upon the shoe, and means for removing the shoe from its support.

3. A machine of the yclass described having, in combination, a support for a shoe, means separate from the support for the shoe for locating a sole upon the shoe, and means for removing thelshoe from its support.

4.. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a shoe, a

support for a sole, means for producing relative movement of approach between the supports to locate the sole upon the shoe, and means for removing the shoe from its sup- 3() pOt.

5. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for 'a sole, a support for a shoefmeans operating first to move the sole support toward the shoe support to locate the sole upon the shoe and then to return the sole support to normal position, and means operating during the return of the sole support for engaging the'shoe and removing it from the shoe support.

6. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a shoe, means for locating a sole upon the shoe, a traveling conveyor, and means for transferring the shoe from the shoe support to the conveyor.

7. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a sole, a support for a shoe, a conveyor, means operating first to move the sole support toward the shoe support to locate the-sole upon the shoe and then to return the sole support to initial position, and means operating during the return of the sole support for transferring the shoe from the shoe support to the conveyor.

8. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a sole, a support for a shoe and a conveyor normally arranged side by side with the shoe support located between the sole support and the conveyor, means operating lirst to move the sole support into position to locate a sole upon the shoe and then to return the sole support to normal position, and means for transferring the shoe to the conveyor during the return of the sole support to normal position.

9. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a shoe, means for operating upon the shoe, a'traveling conveyor, shoe carrying means moving in a path which intersects a portion of that of the conveyor for taking a shoe from the support and depositing it upon the conveyor, and means for intermittently moving a part of the conveyor out of the path of movement of the shoe carrying means.

10. A machine of the class describedhaving, in combination, a support for a shoe, means for operating upon the shoe, a traveling conveyor, a shoe-carrying member, means for causing said member to engage the shoe, to make a fractional part of a revolution, to deliver the shoe upon the conveyor and to complete the revolution, and means for moving a portion of the conveyor out of the path of rotation of the shoe carrying member to permit the completion of said revolution.

l1. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a shoe, a support for a shoe part, a shoe carrier, and means for operating the shoe part support and the shoe carrier in timed relation to locate the shoe part upon the shoe and to remove the shoe with the part located upon it from the shoe support.

12. A machine of the class described having, in combinatioma support for a shoe, a support forI a shoe part, a shoe carrier, and a common actuator for operating the shoe part support and the shoe carrier in timed relation to locate the shoe part upon the shoe and to remove the shoe with the part located upon it from the shoe support.

13. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a shoe, a support for a shoe part, an axis about which the shoe part support is pivoted, said axis being located on one side of the shoe support between the two supports, a second axis located on the other side of the shoe support, a shoe carrier pivoted about said secondnamed axis, and means for operating the sole support and the shoe carrier in timed relation to locate the shoe part upon the shoe and to remove the shoe with the part located upon it from its support.

14. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a shoe, a support for a shoe part, an axis about which the shoe part support is pivoted, said axis being located on one side of the shoe support between the two supports, a second' axis lo'- cated on the otherside of the shoe support, a shoe carrier pivoted about said secondnamed axis, and a common actuator for .operating the shoe part support and the shoe carrier in timed relation to locate the shoe part upon the shoe and to remove the shoe with the part located upon it from its su port.

15. A machine of. the class dldscribed having, in combination, a support for a shoe, a support for a shoeA part a shoe carrier, a conveyor, means for rockmg the shoe part support first to locate the shoe part upon the shoe and then to return the support to initial position, means for rotating the shoe carrier to remove the shoe with the shoe part upon it and for discharging the shoe upon the conveyor, and means for thereafter moving `a portion of the conveyor out of the path of further rotation of the shoe carrying means.

16. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a shoe, and means for stretching a'shoe part from end to end andjfor locating it upon the shoe.

17. A machine of the 'class described havingin combination, a shoe support, "a shoev part support, and means for increasing a dimension of the shoe part support to stretch the shoe part, and for imparting relative movement of approach to the supports to locate the stretched shoe part upon the shoe.

18. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a shoe support, a shoe part support, and means for increasing a dimension of the shoe part support to stretch the shoe part and for moving the shoe part support toward the shoe support to locate the shoe part upon the shoe.

19. A machine of the class described having in combination, a shoe support, a twopart support for a shoe part, means for engaging the shoe part at spaced localities and holding them one on one part and the other on the other part of the support, and means for separating the parts of the support to stretch the shoe part and for producing relative movements of approach of the supports to locate the shoe part upon the shoe.

20. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a shoe support, a twopart support for a shoe part, means for engaging the shoe part at spaced localities and holding them one on one part and the other on the other part of the support, and means for separating the parts of the support to stretch the shoe part and for moving the shoe part support toward the shoe support to locate the shoe part upon the shoe.

21. A machine of the class described *having,'in combination, a shoe support, means for stretching a sole from end to end and means for locating the sole while stretched upon'the bottom of the shoe. n

22. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a shoe support, a twopart sole support, and means for separating the parts of the sole support to increase the length of said support, and for imparting relative movement of approach to the supports to locate the sole upon the bottom of the shoe.

23. A machine of the class described having in combination, a shoe su port, a twopart sole support, and means or separatlng the partsof the sole support` to increase the length of said support, and for moving the sole support toward the shoe sup ort to 1ocatethe sole upon the bottom o? the shoe.

24. A machine of-the class described having in combination, a shoe support, a sole and-means for producing relative movement of approach of the supports to locate the sole upon the shoe.

25. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a shoe support a sole support having heel end and toe-en 'gages' normally located a distance apart less than the length of the sole required to fit the shoe, means for holding the heel and the toe end of the sole each in engagement with its gage, means for producing relative movement of approach of the supports to 'locate the sole upon the shoe, and means responsive to said relative movement for increasing the distance between the gages.

26. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a-shoe support, a sole support, heel end and toe end gages mounted upon said sole support, means for imparting relative movement of approach to the supports to cause the sole to be located upon the shoe, one of said gages being at all times in position to locate its end of the sole properly upon the shoe, the other gage being normally spaced from the first gage a distance less than that required for the sole, and means responsive to the relative movement of approach of the supports for moving said other gage to increase'the distance between the gages.

' 27. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a shoe support, a sole support, heel end and toe end gages mounted upon the sole support and normally separated a distance less than the required length of the sole, means for imparting relative movement of approach to the supports to cause the sole'to be located upon the shoe, means for holding the ends of the sole each against its i gage, and means for increasing the distance between the gagesbefore the sole is located.

28. A machine of the class described having. in combination, a shoe support, a sole support, heel end and toe end gages mounted upon the sole support and normally separated a distance less than the required length of the sole, means for imparting relative movement of approach to the supports to cause the sole to be located upon the shoe, means for holding the ends of the sole each against its gage, means becoming operative during said relative movement for increasing the distance between the gages.

29. A machine ofthe class described'having, in combination, means for supporting a shoe bottom-side-up, means for supportlng a sole tread face down, and means for lmpart- 5 ing relative movement of a proach to the sup orts to cause the sole to located upon the ottom of the' shoe.

30. A machine of the class describedhaving, in combination, means f or supporting a 1g shoe with its bottom facing 1n one '1rect1on, means for supporting a.sole w1th its tread face facing in another d1rect1on, and means for imparting relativel movement of approach to the supports to cause the sole to be located upon the bottom of the shoe.

31. A machine of the class describedhaving, in combination, means for supportmg a shoe bottom-side-up, means for supporting a soletread face down, and means for moving the sole support with-the sole upon 1t into position to locate the sole tread face up upon the bottom of the shoe.

32. A machine of the class described hav-f ing, in combination, means for supporting a shoe, means for supporting a sole, said supporting means being adapted to support one article bottom-side-up and the other bottomside-down, and means for invertlng one of the articles. and locating it upon the other article.

33. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for supporting a shoe bottom-side-up, means for su porting a sole tread face down, and means or inverting one of said articles and for locating 1t upon the other article.

34. A machine of the class descrlbedhaving, in combination, means `for supporting a shoe bottom-side-up, means for supporting a sole tread face down, and means for inverting the sole and locating it upon the bottom of the shoe.

35. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for supporting a shoe, means for supporting a sole, vacuum means orholding the sole upon its support, and means for inverting one of the supports and moving it toward the other support to locate the sole upon the shoe.

36. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for supporting a shoe bottom-side-up, means for sup orting a sole right-side-up, vacuum means or holding the sole upon its support, and means for inverting the sole support and moving it to locate the sole upon the bottom of the shoe.

37. A machme of the class described having, in combination, a supiport for a shoe, a sup ort for a sole adapte to hold the sole witl its fore part bent. at an angle to its rear part, and 4means including the sole support for turning the sole over and locating it upon the bottom of the shoe.

38. A machine of the class described havc5 ing, in combination, a shoe support, a sole support, and a pivot locatedbetween the su ports about which one of the supports may swung to locate the'sole upon the bottom of the shoe.

39. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a shoe sup ort, a sole support, a pivot located between t e supports, and means for swinging the sole support about the 'pivot to locate the sole upon the bottom of the shoe.

40. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for supporting a shoebottom-side-up, means for supporting a sole tread face down, and means for swinging the sole support about a substantially horizontal axis to locate the sole upon the bottom of the shoe.

41. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a shoe su port and a sole support normally side by side with the ends of the ball line of the sole substantially in alinement with the ends ofthe ball line of the shoe, and means for producing relative movement ,of approach of the supports tpl locate the sole upon the bottom of the s oe. r

42. A machine of the class described having, in combination. a shoe support and a sole support normally side by side-with the ends of the ball line of the sole substantially in alinement with the ends of the ball line of the shoe, and means for moving the sole support toward the shoesupport `to locate the sole upon the bottom of the shoe.

43. A support for a sole which is to be located upon-a shoe having, in combination, means for supporting the sole with a bend ,at a given locality, and means for adjusting the support to vary the location of the axis about which the bend is made.

44. A support for a sole which is to be located upon a shoe having, in combination, means for supporting the sole with a bend at a given locality, and means for adjusting vthe support to change its effective length and to change the location'of the bend with respect to the support.

45. A support for a sole which is to be located upon a shoe having, in combination, means for supporting a sole of a given length with .a bend at substantially the ball line, and means for changing the effective length of the support and for correspondingly changing the location of the bend with respect to the support to maintain the bend at the ball line of a sole of different length.

46. A support for a sole which is to be located upon a shoe having, in combination, means for supporting a sole of a given length with a bend at substantially the ball line, and a single member manipulation of which changes the eiective length of the support and the location of the bend with respect to the support so that the bend always occurs at substantially the ball line irrespective of the length of the sole.

47. A support for a sole which is to be located upon a shoe having, vin combinat-ion,

a base having a substantially at face to receive the rear part of the sole, a member having a face inclined to said at face to receive the fore part of the sole, and a carrier for said member adjustable along said fiat face.

49. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a shoe, means for operating upon the shoe, a traveling conveyor, a plurality of shoe carriers, and means for actuating the carriers to cause one of them to transfer a shoe from the support to the conveyor and another to move into position adjacent to the support in readiness to engage and transfer a succeeding shoe.

50. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for the shoe,

means for locating a shoepart upon the shoe,

a traveling conveyor, and means for transferring the shoe from the shoe support to the conveyor.

51. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for the shoe,

means normally located at one side of the shoe support for locating a sole upon the shoe, and means for removing the shoe from its support.

In testimony lwhereof I Vhave signed my name to this specification.

ERNEST W. STACEY. 

